Top 10 Gifts For a Drummer. Make Your Drummer Happy

It’s the ultimate question–what to give to the drummer who has everything? It’s not so easy shopping for a drummer, especially if they already have the best electronic drum set for home practice and the most professional sounding acoustic for performance.

What is there to buy after they already have the perfect drum sets? It’s even harder if you don’t know much about drums or the art of drumming in the first place.

This review will give you a few ideas to help you find the perfect gift for the drummer in your family. Whether they are just getting started, or getting ready to play their first concert, it’s a blast to watch the natural born drummer’s eyes light up at the sight of a shiny new gadget or much-needed accessory.

Our Top 10 Best Drummer Gifts

Evans 2-Sided Practice Pad, 12″

To a drummer, any surface is a potential practice pad. If you doubt these words, just check out their furniture. You’ll see the tell tale marks on table surfaces, chair backs and desk edges. That’s why an actual practice pad is the gift that keeps on giving.

This two-sided practice pad is made of neoprene for endurance practice on one side and gum rubber on the other for a more real-feeling rebound effect. The material will stand up to immense wear (much more so than your furniture) and last for years.

Evans also makes smaller, less expensive 6” practice pads that can be used alone or added to the larger pad to mimic a full drum set layout. If portability is a factor, the 6” pads provide the same feel as the 12” and are much easier to transport in a back pack.

You don’t need a stand to use the pad. In fact, many players just place it on a chair or table or even in their lap to work on snare techniques. Other drummers like to mount multiple pads to their existing stands in order to recreate their set for quiet practice so they can hone their skills. The pads provide a very realistic feel while creating very little noise. This is also great for students who may only have full equipment at the learning site and need something to practice on at home.

On Stage DA100 Drum Stick Holder

Back pockets don’t always make the best drumstick holders. Plus, they only hold a couple pairs at the most, and those uncomfortably. That’s why a drum stick holder makes the perfect gift, especially if your favorite drummer goes through 5Bs by the dozen.

The C-shaped mounting clamp can be adjusted to fit any hardware stand where it will be easiest to reach. Break a stick during a show? Don’t even miss a beat! It’s angled by the extension arm at 45 degrees so it can be adjusted for fast and easy reach. The angle makes it easy to identify sticks by color if the drummer changes out stick types during sets.

The cup holder holds up to 8 sets of sticks and can be removed for cleaning so it doesn’t accumulate dirt that may gum up sticks over time. Best, the neoprene bag keep the sticks from picking up the vibration of the drum set, so they will not create any extra noise by vibrating against each other while playing. This is very important for low-volume sets or recording.

Etymotic Research ER20XS-SMF-P High-Fidelity Earplugs

If your favorite drummer does not yet have a quality set of ear plugs, this should be the absolute first gift on your list. Just ask any older rock star who never considered the use of hearing protection because the industry had sadly not learned its lesson yet. Most are suffering hearing loss to varying degrees, many to the point where they can no longer perform.

Most modern performers would never consider playing without protection, and not just because they don’t want to go deaf. The fact is, a quality pair of acoustically balanced earplugs helps the performer to differentiate the subtle tones and notes that they need to be able to hear in a noisy environment. These high-fidelity earplugs do this by filtering out low-end noise that muddles clarity and high-end sounds (like the screeching of adoring fans) while letting mid-range tones come through (less) loud and perfectly clear. This improves the ability to play everything accurately from timing to pitch and tone.

Let’s face it, drums produce the type of percussive sound that can damage hearing even with very short exposures. Drummers are literally guaranteed to experience some level of hearing loss if they don’t take the proper precautions. There is no greater gift in the world for a musician than the gift of perfect hearing for a lifetime.

Drum Keys 3-pack By Drum Starz

Ask any drummer, what is the one thing that is never there when they need it. The universal answer is a set of keys. No, these are not the keys you need to open a door or start your car. They are the keys that drummers need to tighten, tune and adjust their sets.

Whether the drummer is playing an electric set or an acoustic set, if it comes on stands, it needs keys. But they are always getting lost, so over time it’s necessary to have a back up set.

This 3-pack of keys by Drum Starz is constructed with durable, chrome-plated steel in the industry standard ¼ inch socket size. You can ensure that your favorite drummer will never be frustrated again by a wiggling stand or tuneless snare at the worst possible time with no way to fix it. They can hide a couple away in a special place in case they lose their included key at a gig or simply forgot where they put it. They can even store a couple extra keys in their drum stick holder!

On Stage DMA6450 DrumFire Non Slip Drum Mat with Bag

Another huge frustration for drummers is the case of the traveling toms. To put it succinctly, no matter how good a drummer’s hardware is braced, the legs tend to walk across smooth floors as they are played. This is doubly true for players who have a very aggressive style.

This 6′ by 4′ pad keeps sets from creeping out of place by providing a non-slip surface that firmly grips the bottom of the stands. The pad is composed of durable PVC that will not curl up annoyingly at the edges.

It’s designed for transport, weighing only 5 pounds, and comes with a nylon carrying case with a shoulder strap and two Velcro straps that keep the pad folded up securely when not in use.

This pad is also nearly essential for home players who use electronic drum kits. This is because the mounting hardware is usually lighter than the hardware for acoustic sets. Even though the stands are often made of one fully connected piece, they tend to walk away from the drummer en masse when played very hard, and unconnected pedals move around all over the place. This will keep the throne, pedals and the set exactly where they need to be.

Drummers who use carpet spikes need not worry about ripping the mat. It’s durable enough to take the abuse. It is also an absolute saver of hardwood floors, protecting them from the inevitable scuffing and scarring they would suffer at the hands of any set.

Zildjian Drummer’s Gloves – Small

Blisters are inevitable with drummers. Practice enough and they happen, eventually turning into callouses, just like the ones you see on the fingertips of a guitarist. It’s just hard to stop when you’re in the groove even when it hurts.

These ultra sleek gloves feature soft lambskin palms that not only protect sore hands, but also improve grip on even the slickest drumsticks so they won’t fly away in sweaty hands.

The Velcro closures are adjustable to increase comfort and fit. They are the perfect size for an older child or an average-sized female adult.

One of the nicest features of these gloves is that the material is compatible with many of the integrated touch-screen devices that come with the best electronic drum set models. So if a drummer is using computer equipment, they are less likely to be forced to take the gloves off while programming. They won’t work with every touch screen device, so try they out first before counting on this feature.

This is the best gift for a drummer that just can’t stop and wants to increase their playing time in perfect comfort and style.

Music Nomad MN112 Premium Drum and Cymbal Care System

Whether electronic or acoustic, upkeep is vital to maintaining the life and quality of a set. This professional four-pack cleaning product cares for both types of sets.

The cymbal cleaner is acid-free, so it won’t damage the metal while polishing it to a beautiful shine. This is important, because cymbals must be properly maintained and oxides removed or their sound can acquire some off-putting undertones. (Of course, some grunge drummers put their cymbals through hell just so they will develop these weird undertones. To each their own, and c’est la vie.)

The all-purpose drum detailer can be used to clean electronic drum pads, as well as shells, hardware, thrones and cases.

The included, no-lint microfiber towels are designed to work with the cleaner to restore a brilliant glow and can be washed and re-used. Proper maintenance will add years to your set, so this cleaner is a must have.

Zildjian Cymbal Clock

This gift is just flat-out cute. Everyone knows that each Zildjian is a work of art. So why not use one as a functional decoration that showcases a musician’s style while helping them keep track of their practice time? (Obviously, so they can ignore the time and keep playing anyway because … why stop?)

This 13 inch cymbal clock is battery operated, so it can be mounted anywhere for best display. Made of beautiful bronze (80% copper and 20% tin) it glows with a brilliant shine. It will make a wonderful conversation piece for any room.

SUCK UK Drumstick Pencils

Another gift in the cute department, these drumstick pencils are flat-out groovy fun. It’s hard to resist the temptation of flipping these HB wooden pencils around and playing a set or two in-between paragraphs.

It’s also an interesting old-school composing tool, since one can tap out the beat, flip it over and write down the notes they just composed.

Mostly though, they are a great way to poke happy fun at your favorite drummer who can’t seem to stop using their pencils and pens as makeshift drum sticks. (Hint: They come in pen designs too!) These make one of the more unique ideas for musician stocking stuffers.

Books!

Rascal Flatts drummer Jim Riley shares his immense knowledge of the musical world in this incredible informational resource guide.

With 124 professionally recorded play-along tracks, learning drummers can expand their musical vocabulary and styles to branch out into any genre. Recordings of each groove are provided to make it easy and fun to learn new forms.

Jim’s straightforward approach and simple explanations will help any aspiring drummer take their performance to a whole new level. It’s great for pros who have never explored outside their genre as well.

This gift book, made by the producers of “Modern Drummer” magazine, is available in both Kindle, hardcover and paperback and contains a wealth of history and information for the person who eats, breathes and lives drums or just music as a whole.

This fun and informational book will carry the reader through the past century as clangers morphed into shoes, then low-boys and eventually the modern hi-hat; or follow the founding fathers of our genres as they created the landscape of our modern musical styles. From evolution of the instrument to the music it created, this book has it all.

It’s a very classy gift for a teacher or older drummer who loves to relive the glory days while thumbing through the beautiful photos. It’s also a wonderful gift for teachers to give to students to help foster their love of the art.

As said above, it’s not so easy picking out a gift for a drummer if you don’t play yourself. There are so many little things that make life easier, reduce frustration or help to improve playing methods. Of course, the best gifts for drummers are the ones that show how well you know and love their unique personality and help them show it off to others.

Now that you have some unique ideas, you can give the musicians in your life gifts that will reflect their style and help them build their skills. Whether it’s a simple and fun gift or something as vital as plugs that protect precious hearing, you will be able to show them how much your support their endeavors. They will appreciate your thoughtfulness and support.

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January 2, 2017Comments Off on Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Take Up Drums Today!

About

Hi! My name is James Hopson. I grew up in the Midwest, utterly surrounded by music for my entire childhood. I took up both the clarinet and flute almost with my first word.

My mother was a cello player with the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra until she became pregnant with my sister, and then she stepped down to become our fulltime mom. She taught us both how to read music right along with our childhood fairy tales... READ MORE+